Reflection on Lent

Lent is the great spring-cleaning of the Christian life. It is the traditional season of prayer and fasting in preparation for the great feast of Easter. The word Lent is derived from a Saxon word meaning “spring.” In the early church, Lent was viewed as a spiritual spring, a time of light and joy in the renewal of the soul’s life. I think we have the notion of fasting and giving up wrong during Lent. I think it should be a time of giving, sharing, and helping. What if the focus shifted to what shall we do? What if instead of a list of things to give up, we centered on a list of positive things to accomplish? What if our notion of a faithful life isn’t built on restrictions, but on a divinely inspired freedom to live in right relationship with God, one another, and creation? What shall we do?